Application Modernization increases productivity by 300%

The Company

SSCA

SSCA is a high-end business consultant which would more aptly describe itself as a ‘behavioral consultant’, whose core business is assisting organizations in increasing personal and organizational productivity. They do this by developing leadership excellence within each company they work with.

Screening and testing is a critical element in SSCA’s process. However, this process was managed by a piece of proprietary software that was misfiring. To get back to operating at their very highest level, the company needed a reliable Software Development partner.

The Challenge

When working with a client their consulting process goes through a few key steps. Firstly, there is behavioral testing and analysis. Testing here is much like sitting a mental aptitude or personality screening. For anyone that doesn’t have experience with this type of testing, it is beneficial but can be mentally taxing and arduous for the person sitting the exam. After this process, goals are clearly defined, problems diagnosed and a clear depiction of the people behind the organization is created. Once that is established, recommendations are made and an organization is given the steer and guidance to help achieve their goals.

As a behavioral consultant, the screening process and individual testing is a critical element. It is what allows SSCA to gain a deeper understanding of their client’s needs.

SSCA’s proprietary software manages this screening and testing process. However, as an organization of over 30 years, this piece of proprietary software was created almost 15 years prior. As such, SSCA were conducting their main business off a very old piece of software. Testing often shut down halfway through, leaving executives to start the lengthy process from scratch. A major headache for all parties.

As a company SSCA were growing steadily and creating opportunities. However, their proprietary software was holding them back and causing a lot of frustration.

The Solution

Solving SSCA’s proprietary software issue became an exercise in software customization and application modernization. As such, the analysis and design phase held great importance. This was something that made a huge impression on SSCA. Upgrading proprietary software was something that SSCA attempted to solve in the past. However, previous attempts proved unsuccessful as the A&D phase had been somewhat overlooked. After years of delivering high performing software, ActionPoint are acutely aware of the importance of this first stage and approached this case no differently, putting huge effort into ensuring all bases were covered and all eventualities were considered.

Collaboration was a key ingredient in ActionPoint’s solution. From the outset, the goal was to create a more modern, agile software system that stayed true to SSCA’s long held assessment formula. Collaboration was something that was also important to SSCA. They appointed a Product Owner for the project who held communication with ActionPoint on an almost daily basis.

The Result

A Transformed Business Model

ActionPoint was able to build a new web application, that not only solved the problem, but totally transformed SSCA’s business model. As mentioned above, SSCA’s core business is in delivering assessment. Prior to working with ActionPoint a good month would have amounted to approx 400 assessments. Within one month of the new application going live, SSCA completed over 1400 assessments. This opened a whole new avenue for SSCA and enabled them to undertake much larger projects.

This wasn’t the only noted improvement. The benefits reaped from SSCA’s application modernization journey can be observed in a number of ways.

A More Fluid, Versatile System – The new and improved application was built with the front-end user in mind but granted a significant amount of back-end versatility.

A Reliable Assessment Process – Having the application secured on the Azure Cloud, the problem of lost data had been alleviated. The entire assessment process became measurably more stable, user-friendly and reliable.

Increased Efficiency – A more efficient assessment process, combined with reduced time solving user issues, freed up resources for the SSCA staff. They could now work on new “higher-value” projects, consider more avenues for revenue and unlock opportunities previously tied up in time-sapping administration.

The results in the first month alone completely changed how SSCA conducted business. They were now able to revamp their business model and set future commercial aims much higher. This project was built in collaboration and, once again, underscored the power that technology holds in helping organizations reach their full potential.

“ActionPoint brought our company’s vision to life. They were here to support our team that had zero experience in creating complex computer systems. We grew under their tutelage, and due to their inclusion felt responsible for a great outcome. The AP team was responsive and professional, we plan on working with them in the future and recommend them without equivocation.”

Awards

About ActionPoint

ActionPoint US is an award-winning custom software development firm based in LA. With our global HQ in Ireland, the US team provides custom software to MSPs and direct to clients with a focus on tailored solutions for business transformation and growth. Our mission is to help our customers to reach their greatest potential using the power of technology.